Sanctuary
by XoRoxasXoSora
Summary: My name is Calla McKinley. I used to imagine what it would be like to fall in love with someone, but I had never thought that it would be like this. Especially not with a Werewolf. Embry X OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

La Push, Washington: The most rainiest place in the entire United States and then some. Most people judged it based on the fact that the sun barely came out twenty days of the whole entire year, or the fact that there is never anything to do. Well, they're right. When it wasn't raining, it was getting ready to rain, and when it _was_ raining, it was getting ready to rain some more. The only thing to actually look forward to was when a new student transferred to our ridiculously small school of four hundred, or when someone's house caught on fire. But honestly, no one ever transferred to our tiny reservation except for a select few of elderly status. As for the ladder, what were the odds of a house actually catching fire with all of the rain that constantly poured down in buckets? None, I tell you. And that is where I come in. No, I wasn't caught in the middle of a raging fire, or trapped in the middle of some gory battle zone. I was, in fact, under the influence of boredom and I was very, _very_ annoyed.

Now some people don't force themselves to sit through a conversation that makes them want to gauge their eyes out with the nearest possible item. Nor do they every rarely have to be forced to witness one of the most unintelligent conversations ever known to man. You see, most people would have gotten up and left the scene already to give themselves relief from possible death by stabbing themselves with a straw. It was very unfortunate and very depressing that I wasn't most people.

"So as I was saying. It's like, I gazed into his eyes and the whole entire world faded into the background. Like it was just him and it was just me." The feminine voice came from my left as a petite girl flipped her long brown hair over a slim shoulder. She had her perfectly manicured hands wrapped around a small brown cup and her megawatt smile was blinding.

"What?" The second and more high-pitched voice came from my right as a girl my age leaned across the small circular table with her jaw hanging open. Her shoulder length blonde hair swayed forward with the movement and splayed across the table. "So it was like, pure magic?"

"I don't believe in fairy tails and you know that, Cindy," The first girl paused long enough to take a sip from the dainty cup of coffee in front of her before glancing around the empty shops. "But now I so do!"

"Oh, my God, Ani!" The completely over-excited blonde cried. "What's his name? Please tell me you got his name!"

"Of course I did," Ani scoffed and looked at Cindy as if she had just asked the question of whether or not it snowed in the winter. "As if I would let a hunk of man meat like that walk away without sinking my claws into him."

"Well?" Cindy questioned, leaning over even further over the table in anticipation. "What's his name?"

"It's," Ani paused, before she too leaned closer over the table and whispered as if she were telling her deepest, darkest secret. It was a surprise really, that the table hadn't tipped over already. "Nathan. But he told me to call him Nate."

"Nate? That's such a beautiful name." Cindy sighed dreamily and leaned back into her silver metal chair. It was designed to be hip and modern, but to me it was only uncomfortable with all of the crisscrossing metal bars in the back.

"I know right? Calla, what do you think?" The sentence caught my attention and brought me back from complete Brain-dead Land. "Aren't you excited? I mean, this means that I can set you up with Nate's hot friends!" Ani's beautiful baby blue eyes glittered with excitement as she locked gazes with my own dark brown ones. Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows were both raised in anticipation of my answer and her white teeth completely contrasted with her russet colored skin as she grinned at me.

"Mmm," I hummed, boredly leaning over to take a pull out of the neon green straw that stuck out of my Java Chip coffee. "I can barely contain myself."

"You could at least be a little more cheerful."

"Yeah, well." I shrugged at my gorgeous cousin. I wished that I could be anywhere except there, but my mom had forced me to tag along with my older cousin in hope that we'd "bond." Right. All my mom had ever wanted was for me and her sister's daughter to get along and become the best of friends. It was too bad that a dream like that could never get far enough to even leave the ground and take flight. My Auntie Grace had come to town two days ago and was staying for the rest of the summer to get a "feel for the air."

She had bought a house years and years ago when she had thought that she wanted to stay living in La Push, but she had changed her mind when she discovered that it wouldn't hold the party life that she desired so much to have. My grandfather had been absolutely livid when he found out that Grace had moved to New York to "embrace the city life," and had basically disowned her. Grandma, however, never stopped loving her first born daughter and had remained in contact with her until both she and grandpa passed away from old age. I never knew them personally, but I'd always had a mental image of the both of them.

My mother, unlike her sister, had chosen to live on the reservation. Her choice had been made for her when she became pregnant with me, because my father had abandoned her and left her to seek out grandpa and grandma for help raising me. When they died, grandpa had left her the house in his Will and my mother couldn't stand to part with it. After a few renovations over the years, it had become more modern and even had its own plumbing without having to rely on a generator to power it. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world, except you know, to be able to escape my psycho cousin.

"Don't ignore me, Calla!" My cousin declared in outrage as she leaned over the table towards me. "I won't let you stay single any longer! Trust me, it'll be the only way for you to lose your V card."

I choked on my Java-chino and put a hand to my chest as I repeatedly coughed up a lung. Did she really just refer to my virginity? Really? Yeah, that was why we would never get along in a million, zillion light years. She was too outgoing and liked to flirt with anything that moved, while I was more reserved and shy when it came to guys. It was like putting Yoda in a room with Princess Barbie: total mayhem.

"I don't want to lose my V card, or however you put it, right now." I finally choked out, gaining my breath in one huge whoosh.

"It'll be good for you." Cindy, Ani's best friend, stared me down through her thick blonde bangs. She daintily lifted her low-fat chocolate latte to her pale pink lips and took a small sip before grimacing and gently putting it back down on the wooden table.

"Yeah, see," Ani smiled. "Even Cindy agrees."

"She couldn't even spell the word agree." I mumbled under my breath.

"Anyway," My cousin ignored me. "Just give it a try, I'm sure you'll love it."

I groaned in exasperation and instead chose to ignore the two girls and glanced around the coffee shop that we were sitting in. It was mostly empty, which was surprising seeing as how it was the only place to sit and drink coffee in La Push. It had been my cousin's idea to drag us off for the day to go "shopping," which mostly just included her parading around the stores looking for outfits that showed excessive cleavage.

"Can we just go now? I have to be at work soon." I begged them and glanced out the window where the sun was shining invitingly. It was a perfect day for once and I had been forced to spend most of it getting my brain cells brutally slaughtered.

"But I'm not done yet." Any pouted at me.

"Fine," I sighed. "I'm going to go head over early. I can't be late, it's my first day." Yeah, I wasn't going to tell her that I didn't have to show up for my first day on the job for another twenty minutes.

"Okay," She sighed. "But we _will_ continue this conversation!"

"Yeah, yeah." I blankly responded, already halfway out of my seat before she could finish her sentence. I had my empty cup in one hand and tossed it into the trashcan near the door as I slung my tiny black satchel over my opposite shoulder. The glass door swung open with an annoying ringing sound and I uncoiled my tense muscles the moment that the warm rays from the sun landed on my face.

"Thank God." I groaned out loud. If I were forced to spend one more moment with my cousin and her blonde bimbo of a friend, I would have exploded, literally. Huffing, I turned and started to make my way down the deserted sidewalk in an almost-swagger like gate. My shoes made soft padding noises as I quietly made my way to the convenience store at the end of the small strip of shops. It was my first day on the job, and after the crazy old man who owned the store decided to hire me, I had been strictly told by my mother to not lose this one. Yeah, I had kind of a bad streak when it came to jobs, not because I didn't like to work, but because I wasn't the best person when it came to concentrating on things. I was surprised that I had been hired with my track record in the first place.

Turning my head, I let the wind blow over my long, black tresses as I gazed out into the bordering forest. La Push was surrounded by the giant forest of the Olympic Peninsula and was almost a complete island in itself. Everything around the reservation was surrounded by nature: green, green nature. I would feel sorry for anyone who lived here that hated the color green, because there was no escaping it, especially those who lived near the forest. A few years ago, there had been rumors about some kind of giant bears that lived in the woods who would eat anyone that they happened to come upon. Right. The only dangerous thing that lived in those woods was a pack of wild, rabid squirrels, if that.

My mine snapped back to reality as the convenience store finally came into view and I sighed with a twinge of nervousness. The building itself wasn't very large, but it wasn't small either. It had a red brick structure and big glass, front windows that looked like they had been recently cleaned. Advertisements of various colors were posted on one of the windows and I stared at them as I approached the front door and pulled it open. It, like the coffee house, had an annoying ringing bell that screeched out a warning of my arrival and I grimaced. That would take a lot to get used to. While I approached the long wooden counter, I took a look around as I waited for the owner to show up from the door labeled "Employee's Only". Shelves and shelves of different products from over-the-counter medicine to junk food, to stuffed animals filled the store and I knew that it would take a while for me to learn the layout.

"Ah, Calla!" I jumped at the booming voice and whipped around to see a man peeking his head out of the Employee's Only door. His short grey hair had been mowed down into a buzz like style, and even though there were prominent wrinkles etched into his face, his stormy grey eyes shone with surprising youth.

"This way, this way." He wildly waved me over before disappearing back behind the door. After a slight pause, I reluctantly made followed him and shut the door behind me. The Employee's Only room was about the size of half of the store and was filled with ceiling high metal shelves that held various items in no particular order. The old man had seated himself behind a desk hiding in the corner of the room and gestured for me to approach.

"Hello." I said with a shy smile as I slowly approached the strange man.

"Well, hello there!" His baritone voice boomed. "Welcome, welcome. You're a bit earlier than I expected, but I like punctuality in my employee's." He smiled and gave me a grandfatherly wink. "Now, I hope that you have come ready to work."

"Yes, sir," I answered and scuffed a foot against the cold concreted floor. "I have."

"That's good to hear!" He wagged his finger at me. "But don't call me sir, it makes me feel old." I swallowed down a sarcastic comment at that. "Call me Ollie."

"Okay," I paused. "Ollie."

That caused him to grin before he stood up from his chair. "That's much better. Now, I hope you don't mind, but I've got to run and pick my granddaughter up from her dance class in Seattle. So I'm gonna leave it to you."

"Leave what to me? Um, sir? Ollie? Wait!" I exclaimed in surprise as he walked past me and patted my shoulder in a way that one might pat a puppy. "What? It's my first day on the job and I don't even know how to work anything!"

"Oh, that's right," He stopped walking and turned. "It's easy. All you have to do to use the cash register is to scan the items with the scan-thingy, and then hit "Total" when you're done and viola! The keys to the register are in the drawer under that desk there." I looked to where he was pointing at the old desk he had been sitting at and back towards where he was standing.

"But...but, sir-" I tried to protest, only to be cut off before I could finish my sentence.

"Ah-ah." He waggled a finger with a slight smile.

"But, Ollie," I restarted in frustration and watched him nod for me to continue. "This is only my first day! What if someone needs something and I don't know where it is? What if there's a robbery or if the register stops working?"

"You'll do fine, my girl. Just believe, and good luck."

"Just Believe?" What in the hell was _that_ supposed to mean?

I followed him out of the tiny side room and watched him leave open mouthed. Was he seriously leaving me alone here? As the main door closed behind him, I slumped against the counter in panic. What was I supposed to do on my first day with absolutely no training? I was so losing my job, there was no doubt about that. I shook my head and tried to think of what to do before finally deciding that getting the key would be a good start. Breathing deeply, I waited until I regained my confidence before standing up and going back into the side room and heading over to the desk to get the register key. The wood was sturdy to the touch, but there was a slight dampness that sunk through to my fingers. I let my hands skim over the smooth mahogany before I grasped a rusted golden handle and pulled. Stuck. Groaning in exasperation, I pulled again, only to have it jerk forward a centimeter before locking up.

"Oh, come on!" I growled, jerking on the handle about a dozen more times, only to have it move and then lock up into place. With a huff, I made my way over to the shelves that lined the walls and scanned them for anything useful. About a million different parts to a million mysterious things were scattered along the shelves in no particular order. My eyes roved over a scrap of wood and metal that looked similar to a broken hammer and I sighed. Maybe I had made a mistake in taking this job, even though I knew that I _needed_ the money in order to go to college in San Francisco. But seriously, what kind of boss just _leaves _on your first day on the job: alone?

"Hello?" A voice called out from the front of the store, causing me to immediately irrupt in silent panic.

"Hold on!" I yelled back, scurrying my way back over to where I was and beginning to rapidly pull at the demonic desk drawer. "I'll be with you in a sec!"

All of that for a key, honestly, a stupid freaking key. Hoping that the customer, my first, wouldn't care about waiting, I placed my right foot against the desk before taking a deep breath and pulling as hard as I possible could. Like before, it locked up, but with one more pull the compartment slid out, only it didn't open like I thought it would. Instead, it flew from it's casing, sending me flailing backwards from the momentum and, almost in slow motion, the contents from the drawer were sent sailing through the air before they fell onto the ground. A curse slipped from my mouth when I crashed to the ground and I winced as the wooden desk completely toppled over with a loud crash-bang!

"Damnit," I groaned in pain. "Why?"

"Hey," That concerned, soft masculine voice was back. "You okay back there?"

"I'm fine," I called back before dropping the desk drawer in my hand and climbing to my feet. Irritated, I slowly ambled my way over to the fallen, scattered contents on the ground and shuffled through a few old looking papers before finding a small copper key underneath. I snatched it up, all the while muttering darkly before reaching the door that lead to the front house of the store. I twisted the knob and emerged behind the counter all the while glaring hotly at the key in my hand.

"Is everything okay?"

My head snapped up and I froze in place as I met the eyes of one of the most gorgeous guys I had ever layed my eyes on. He had perfect, russet colored skin like the rest of the Quileute around the reservation, but his glowed under the fluorescent lights like firefly in the darkness. His strong jaw framed perfect, pale pink lips and high cheekbones accentuated a perfectly straight nose. His eyes were what caught my attention the most, though. They were a dark brown, almost black, and they glowed like molten coals as they locked onto mine. Semi-long straight black hair framed his his face and it was parted to the left so that some of it gently lay across his forehead. I couldn't tare my eyes away, and honestly, I didn't want to. The gorgeous guy snapped out of it first and after blinking for a few moments, he smiled beautifully, pristine white teeth against tan skin.

"Hey." His soft voice, like his eyes, seemed to pull me in, capturing me in a way that I never wanted to escape from.

"Hi." I breathed and smiled shyly, trying not to hyperventilate. I was so not good when it came to communicating with guys who were drop dead gorgeous.

"Uh," Mr. Gorgeous leaned his elbows onto the counter and grinned. It was at that moment that I realized how muscular he was. He wasn't an over-the-top steroid user, but he wasn't rail thin either, and I would have bet a lot of money on the fact that he probably had a six pack. "What happened back there?"

"Long story," I shrugged sheepishly. "It's my first day."

"Long story, huh? I don't think I've seen you around before. Have you always lived in La Push?" He still had that friendly smile and it made me want to tell him anything that his beautiful mouth asked.

"Yeah," I answered, making my way over towards the counter and dropping the small key next to the register. "Unfortunately."

"You don't like it here?" When I looked back up at him, his dark eyebrows had knit together in adorable confusion.

"Mmm, it can just get boring around here sometimes, you know?" I honestly wondered why I was even spilling my guts out to some guy that I didn't even know. Trying to be confident, I asked my own question. "Who are you, anyway?" His answering smile was completely worth mustering up my bravery.

"Embry Call," His smile had widened into a full out grin as he held his hand out for me to shake. "You?"

"Calla McKinley." I answered with a smile of my own and slid my hand into his. Emby's large hand completely engulfed my smaller one and the pure heat that radiated off of him had me wondering if he had a fever or something.

"Nice to meet you." He let go of my hand and leaned against the counter again. I opened my mouth to respond when the door to the store opened and that annoying bell rang out.

"Em, what's taking so long?"

Both Embry and I turned at the same time to see who had interrupted our conversation. I almost blanched when yet another gorgeous Quileute guy strode in and locked eyes with Embry. How had I lived in La Push basically all my life and never seen hide nor hair of these rare species? New Guy had perfect russet skin as well and his broad shoulders gave me the impression that he had some serious muscles under his black shirt. Jean shorts hung dangerously low on his hips and I had to stop myself from passing out, all while my brain was going into overdrive.

Warning. Warning. Too many beautiful men in close proximity. Warning.

"Sorry, Jake," Embry smiled sheepishly before nodding in my direction. "I was talking to Calla."

The way my name rolled off his tongue made a tingle go down my side. He locked eyes with me again and we shared a smile. Jake looked back and forth between Embry and I before an expression of understanding dawned on his face and he broke out into a grin.

"Right, well," Jake began. "I'll wait outside." He nodded at me before sending one more grin to Embry and leaving the store, the annoying bell following him.

"I should probably go." Embry turned back to me with the corners of his perfect lips pulling up.

"Okay," I said, confused on while I felt so disappointed at the fact that he was leaving. "I'll see you around?" I almost winced at how that statement sounded so much like a question.

"Yeah," He smiled that beautiful smile. "You will." He was at the door when he turned around as he had forgotten something. "And try not to hurt yourself in the meantime, okay?"

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "Yeah, I'll try not to." That got me another beautiful smile as he turned back around and exited the store, and for some reason, that stupid bell didn't seem so annoying that time around. Yeah, I was definitely going to try and keep that job.

* * *

><p><strong>Review please? (:<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

"Your heart is weak, but your will is strong."

"Really, that's what you have to say after I practically spill my heart out to you?" I leveled my gaze at my best friend and stared her down. She smiled sheepishly at me from her place on the window seat and tucked a stray piece of chocolate brown hair behind her ear.

"Sorry," She switched positions on the dark blue cushion and stretched her legs out until they hit the forest green painted walls. Her long-sleeved blue shirt was bunched up by the hem, but she didn't seem to notice as she hung upside-down on the window seat, her long hair pooling around her. "I feel for you, I really do, but at least you got to get away from her. I don't know how you stand it."

"Tell me about it." I fell back onto the white shag carpet and spread my arms out as far as they could go. Above me, hundreds of posters of different boy bands were hung up on the ceiling and I found myself staring into the handsome face of Christopher Drew. I was currently in the room of my best friend, Phillipa, or as she preferred to be known as, Pippa. The two of us had been the best of friends since we were ten years old. I had met her when I was forced to go to some band camp one year and we had been appointed roommates. I hated her at first; she was too soft spoken, whereas I was a daredevil, always trying to jump off of the highest log cabin.

It wasn't until I saw her being bullied by a large, or at least she seemed large at the time, twelve year old that we actually became friends. I had kicked the tween girl in the shins as hard as I possible could, and sent her running back to her cabin to get a councilor. It took a few seconds for me to understand what was happening, and that was when I took Pippa's hand and booked it out of there. We had hidden under the bleachers in the deserted field until the sun went down and after that, we were inseparable. It wasn't until she and her mom moved to La Push that we were able to hang out every day.

"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy, than in that of your whore-ish cousin." Pippa grinned and I watched as her face slowly started to turn red with all of the blood rushing to her head. Her glass window was propped wide open with the bug net-like blinds pulled away to let the grey sky in. I knew that if someone happened to walk by and look into her window, all they would see was a pair of long, russet legs pressed up against the screen.

"Did you really just quote Star Wars in the first part of that sentence?" I rolled my eyes and stared back up at the ceiling, this time at the Big Time Rush poster. It took a lot of effort to not make a smart remark about it.

"Of course," She rolled off of the window seat and collapsed beside me. "Who doesn't like a nice Star Wars quote to brighten their day?"

I rolled my eyes and smirked. "You're such a nerd."

"And nerds are sexy," Pippa retorted, rolling yet again until she was on her stomach. Her straight hair was now sticking out in random directions, but she didn't seem to notice as she gazed out the open window and to the dark green forest that bordered her property. "Anyway, what happened with the whole first day on the job thing? Did you get fired yet?"

"No," I sent her a small glare and stretched my legs out until they disappeared underneath of her queen sized bed. "The guy who owned the store completely left me all alone in that place. Like, with no training or anything. All I got was an 'Oh, I have to go pick up my granddaughter, peace out.'"

Pippa snorted and turned her dark green eyes towards me. I had always been jealous that she had perfectly long, thick eyelashes, whereas I had to apply a ridiculous amount of mascara to make mine look like hers. "Did he really say 'peace out'? Because if he did, I'm gonna apply to work there."

"No," I rolled my eyes and stared at a point on the ceiling where the green paint was starting to chip with a sigh. "I think the only good part about working there was that I got to meet Embry."

Immediately, Pippa scrambled to her knees so fast that I was surprised that she didn't get a rug burn. Her almond shaped eyes had widened considerably as she placed her palms on the floor and leaned towards me with sharp attention.

"Embry? As in Embry Call?" She cried in surprise, rocking back onto her knees.

"Yeah," I shot her a weird look and leaned back against the wooden chest that sat at the foot of her bed. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, come on!" Pippa's expression turned into one of disbelieving and she ran a hand through her messy hair. "How would I not know? But just think. Doesn't that name sound a bit familiar?"

The look I gave her was one of puzzlement as I tried to rack my brains to figure out what she was talking about. At seeing my uncomprehending expression, she sighed and stood up to take her place on the window seat again. A breeze was starting to flit in through the window and she reached over to slide the pane down halfway.

"I'm not picking up what you're putting down, mamma." I raised a knee to my chest and rested my chin on the fabric of the dark skinny jeans that I was wearing.

"Okay," She started, breathing a sigh out through her nose. "You know how a while ago, there were those rumors going around about how there was a gang in La Push or whatever?"

"Yeah, with that Sam Uley dude being the leader of it or whatever? What about it?"

"Yeah. This Embry guy?" She sent me a level stare. "He's one of them."

The rumors about the so called gang in La Push had gotten bigger over the past fer months, like a match to a piece of dry wood. Apparently a group of tall, muscular boys were all apart of some kind of drug deal and people spread it around that they took steroids. Most people just waved it away and called them wannabe Hall Monitors since they were always trying to settle petty arguments and keep peace within the Rez. But others thought it was a serious problem. I, personally didn't believe in rumors; I liked to figure things out themselves.

"I thought that you didn't believe in all of those rumors." I raised a brow at her. I may not have realized that Embry was who Pippa thought he was, and I must have been on something yesterday to have not recognized his name. But I didn't care really, rumors were rumors, and that's all they usually were. Even though a large amount of the La Push population frowned upon and disagreed with what they thought those guys were doing, I wouldn't let someone's gossip sway my opinions. Embry had seemed like a nice enough guy yesterday, and I would be the judge of what he did and did not do based on what he told me. If, you know, we ever met again anyway.

"I don't, you know that," Pippa crossed her legs and leaned back against the half opened window. "I was just throwing it out there so that you knew, you know, just in case the rumors turned out to be true."

"Pips," I groaned and stood up, making my way over to the dark wooden dresser that stood near the door to her room. My purse sat on top of it and I reached inside to grab my phone so that I could check for the time before I slid it into my back pocket. "We only talked for five minutes, if that. There's no need to make such a big fuss about it."

"Oh yes, yes there is. You met a guy in La Push and, despite the gang rumors or whatever, I wanna know _all_ about it. So tell me, I want details!"

I snorted and sat down on her bed, the springs squeaking from my weight. "What kind of details? There's not much to tell."

"There are _always_ details, Calla, remember that." She said as she examined the ends of her hair. "We'll start with the most important one of all: what did he say when he left?"

"What did he say when he left?" I quoted back at her dryly. "How is that an important detail?"

"I find your lack of faith disturbing," Pippa smirked as she quoted yet another line from Star Wars. I didn't know what was worse: having a best friend that was completely obsessed with the movies, or being able to tell when she used lines from it. "What did he say when he left?"

I sighed and rolled my eyes in exasperation. "He said that he'd see me later."

"Thank God!" My boy crazy best friend cried. "That mean's that I'll get to meet Mr. Hottie McHottie."

"I don't see how him saying that he'd see me later means that you'll get to meet him," I rolled my eyes to the ceiling. "You shouldn't over analyze everyth-"

"Wait," Pippa blinked, completely ignoring the fact that I was in the middle of talking. "If he's in Sam Uley's not-gang thing, then that must mean that he's _really_ hot then."

I snorted and a laugh escaped my throat. "Yeah, you could say that."

"Which means that I automatically approve." I was about to answer her with a sarcastic comment when the phone in the back pocket of my jeans started vibrating, causing me to jump a little in surprise. I shot Pippa a look and slid the small handheld out to look at the screen and groaned loudly when I saw the name flashing on the screen. "Who is it?"

"The creature that lurks in my nightmares." I answered and flipped open my phone to see what my cousin wanted from me now.

"No!" Pippa shouted, diving off of the window seat with her arms outstretched. "Don't answer it! Don't go to the dark side!"

"If I don't answer, she'll keep calling back," I sighed and pushed Pippa's hand out from in front of my face and answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Calla?" The feminine response came from the other end and I had to stop myself from sighing aloud. I mean, who else would be answering _my_ phone? "Guess where I am right now!"

"Oh, I don't know," I rolled my eyes and shared a look with Pippa. "A shoe sale?"

"Um, no," My cousin responded and paused for a moment. I could just make out voices in the background that sounded distinctively male. "I'm at First Beach. And I have to say, while I _did_ have my doubts about this place having any potential hotties, my mind has completely been changed."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't listen to that dark creature," Pippa stage whispered from her place by my side. She had her ear pressed up against the phone in attempt to eavesdrop on the conversation. "She's trying to corrupt your mind with her sinful ways."

"What I mean is, you better get your butt over here or I'll come find you and drag you out here."

"Why do you want me to come out there?" I rolled my eyes in exasperation. "Just get Cindy to go with you."

"I would," Ani blew an annoyed sigh over the phone. "But she had to go help her cousin move in with her grandma or something like that. So, you're the only hope I have left."

"Thanks," I attempted to sound somewhat grateful for the invitation. "But no thanks. I think I'll pass on this one."

"Oh, come on!" My cousin exclaimed and I could hear the pout in her voice. "I know that you're not really into guys and everything-"

"She makes it sound like you're gay or something." Pippa smirked and twisted the phone more towards her so that she could hear better.

"But I think you'll have fun," Ani continued as if she hadn't just been interrupted. "There's like, some kind of bonfire or something going on down here and there's a ton of people here. Not only that, but there's also this group of really, _really_ hot guys. And I mean, really hot!"

"Ani-"

"And they're all like, super tall and muscular," She paused again as a loud boom of laughter sounded from the other end of the phone. "Anyway, you got to come or I _will_ come find you and drag you down here."

Before I had the chance to respond to that, Pippa completely snatched the phone out of my grasp and stood up from the bed. Glancing back at me, her green eyes sparkled with mischief and I had the feeling that something bad was about to happen. Pressing the phone to her ear, she spoke into the mouthpiece. "Oh, don't worry, She'll be there."

My so called best friend clicked the phone shut and I sprung up from the bed. "Dude, what the hell?"

"What the hell nothing," She turned to face me with a bright grin. "I just helped make your life a little bit better."

"_What_?" I groped for words to better describe my annoyance and complete feeling of betrayal. "How does agreeing for me to go to some stupid bonfire with my whore of a cousin, of which whom you hate, helping to make my life better?"

"Did you not hear what that hellish fiend had to say?" She raised a brow. "Because I heard that there were some pretty hot, tall, and muscular guys down at First Beach. Which means that there is a chance that you'll be able to bump into Mr. Hottie McHottie pants."

"Wait," I held my hands up in front of me as if it would help me understand my best friend's idiotic logic any better. "Since there is the _slightest_ possibility that a guy I have talked to for no more than five minutes in my whole life is at some stupid bonfire, you agreed to force me to go to it? How does _that_ make any sense what so ever?"

"It makes perfect sense, but you're just not seeing it," At my disbelieving look, she threw a casual arm around my shoulder. "Look at it this way, if that Embry guy is there, then I get to set you up with a gorgeous guy. But if he isn't, then I get to set myself up with a gorgeous guy. It's basically a win-win."

"Um, no," I shrugged her arm off of my shoulder. "First off, you're not turning me into some Stalker Sandy, and second of all, since when have you been interested in having a boyfriend?"

"Eh, it's a new thing," Pippa shrugged before grinning. "Besides, what could possibly happen? You meet up a fairly attractive guy and hit it off? Come on, Calla, at least go for the party experience."

I took a moment to look over the teenage girl standing in front of me. Since as far back as I could remember, Pippa had always been the nerdy type of girl, preferring to play with Star Trek figurines instead of going shopping for new shoes. And we _never_ went to any type of get together, shin-dig, or anything of the type. So why did she suddenly want to go to some party? I scrutinized her for a moment, taking in her pouting face and the pleading hands clasped in front of her before I sighed in defeat.

"Fine, let's go to some stupid party."

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><p><strong>Review? (:<strong>

**I promise that the next chapter will be _much_ longer.** **I just wanted to get this out there so I could move on.**


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